The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 10. A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (1)
==[Do not be mistaken. This alliance is temporary]==
[Objective] – Earn Kai’s recognition.
[Reward] – Kai’s Affinity increases
[Failure] – Death
Translucent text materialized across my entire field of vision.
Whether it was the Quest objective or the reward itself.
It wasn’t merely trivial—it was utterly useless.
However, the failure penalty being ‘death’ made it impossible to dismiss lightly.
Perhaps that’s why it had been forcibly accepted.
And this was the third ‘Affinity’ Quest to appear after the tutorial Quest and the main Quest.
“Affinity?”
The moment I spoke, translucent text cascaded before my eyes.
====
Affinity is a metric that indicates how a given individual perceives the [Player].
It represents the [Player]’s interpersonal relationships and consists of 「3 Tiers」 and [9 States].
First is the 「Conflict Tier」.
Individuals in the Conflict Tier dislike the Player. This tier comprises [Hatred, Disgust, Anger, Discord]—4 states in total.
Next is the 「Neutral Tier」, where the individual feels no particular emotion toward the Player.
This tier consists of only [Indifference]—a single state.
Finally, there is the 「Interest Tier」, which indicates the individual has active interest in the Player.
Depending on the degree of interest, it comprises [Affection, Favor, Trust, Love]—4 states.
Listed in order of states: ‘Hatred < Disgust < Anger < Discord < Indifference < Affection < Favor < Trust < Love'.
====
The lengthy text had been quite comprehensive.
I carefully reviewed its contents.
It wasn't particularly difficult to understand.
But that was all there was to it.
"What's the point?"
There was nothing particularly beneficial about raising Affinity.
It didn't grant additional stat points.
It didn't provide artifacts like [Inventory].
Nor did it grant any special abilities.
There was no reason to waste time being bound by Affinity.
…That's what I thought, right at that moment.
◆You there, thinking Affinity is useless!
As if responding to my thoughts, translucent text cascaded before my eyes once more.
====
Not at all, I assure you!
There are 'very special rewards' obtainable from individuals in the 「Interest Tier」, so I recommend building Affinity diligently!
Conversely, characters in the "Conflict Stage" can pose a threat to your life, so I recommend building affinity with them diligently as well!
Note that there are individuals at the extremes—those in the [Hatred] and [Affection] states—whom you can never reach no matter how hard you try, so please be cautious.
After all, it's difficult to hate someone enough to kill them, and it's far too hard to love someone more than your own life!
====
"Hmm…."
Looking at it, it didn't seem entirely useless.
As the description stated, there existed something called a "very special reward."
Whether that reward came from the Quest itself.
Or from the person in question—I couldn't tell.
But one thing was certain: it was no trivial reward.
And I shouldn't focus solely on the reward.
The description warned that if I let my affinity with someone drop to the "Conflict Stage," I could face threats to my life.
In other words, affinity management was necessary in multiple ways.
In that sense, Kai's affinity toward me was [Hatred].
The lowest possible stage, where he despised me deeply—
◆Kai possesses active aggression to kill and destroy you!
◆Given any opportunity, Kai will absolutely kill and eliminate you!
…Well, so it says.
The description seemed convinced my thinking was far off the mark, and it made sure to thoroughly instruct me on the [Hatred] state.
It felt like it had been seeing through my thoughts and feelings from the start, but regardless.
"So what?"
I waved my hand dismissively, scattering the text that had appeared before my eyes.
I had no intention whatsoever of raising Kai's affinity.
Naturally, I had no intention of undertaking Kai's affinity Quest either.
A Quest merely provides direction.
The choice of how to achieve the objective rests entirely with me.
And there was no rule saying I couldn't reject the very direction the Quest proposed.
In other words, choosing not to pursue a Quest was also my freedom.
Even if a Quest was forcibly "accepted," whether I "undertake" it or not is my decision.
Of course, I bear full responsibility for the consequences.
What else could I do?
◆Weeeee-! Weeeee-!!
Then the text sent me continuous warning sounds, insisting I raise Kai's affinity.
It kept trying to persuade me, spouting nonsense about how I absolutely must.
But I didn't listen.
I was a stubborn one.
"I want to kill Kai just as much."
I too possessed active aggression to kill and destroy Kai.
Given any opportunity, I would absolutely kill and eliminate Kai.
Conversely, my affinity toward Kai was also [Hatred].
Even if the Quest failure penalty is death, if I kill Kai first and eliminate the affinity Quest itself, that's the end of it.
From the start, I never intended to let Kai live.
How could I possibly spare the commander of the Frost Legion?
If Kai's corruption had been because of Seraphia, my thinking would have been different.
There would have been room to spare Kai.
All I would need to do is kill Seraphia.
Without Seraphia, Kai wouldn't have fallen to corruption, so if I raised his affinity and brought him into the Allied Forces, he would have been an incredible asset.
But Kai didn't become a Death Knight because of Seraphia.
He became a 'Lich' of his own volition.
Kai transcended everything through his own will, and even without Seraphia, he could have fallen to darkness on his own.
Therefore, both Seraphia and Kai had to be eliminated without fail.
Above all, Ian only regretted killing Seraphia. He didn't regret killing Kai—not even a word of it.
In other words, I could kill Kai right now without issue.
I wanted to kill him during that confrontation earlier.
Yet the reason I didn't kill Kai was very simple.
"He really is strong."
I couldn't kill him.
He was far too strong.
It was only because Kai focused on subduing me that I survived—if he had drawn his blade with the intent to kill, I wouldn't have even reacted before dying right there.
To put it bluntly, even my past self and the Predator of the Allied Forces couldn't handle Kai.
As a captain of the Special Forces Unit, I carried out countless missions. Through them, I eliminated quite a few Imperial Army commanders with my own hands.
I certainly possessed combat power equal to or greater than a legion commander.
But Kai, the former commander of the Frost Legion, was the exception.
Once during a mission.
When I encountered Kai.
I barely managed to escape with my life.
It was the same in my past life, but now that I've returned to the past, he was even more out of my league.
Of course, Kai had also returned to the past.
Now he was merely the chief knight of House Whitewolf, not the commander of the Frost Legion, but a monster remained a monster.
"So the rumors about the Royal Court's Guard sending him love calls aren't baseless after all."
At this current point in time after returning to the past, Kai was now twenty years old.
Two years older than me, yet his talent and achievements were something that twenty years of effort couldn't bridge, let alone two.
That is, if I hadn't obtained Ian's abilities.
But now it was different.
Through Ian's ability, Solo Leveling [EX], I could grow infinitely stronger.
Through Ian's ability, Player's Will [EX], I could devour infinitely with Predation [S+].
So I had no time for this.
Affinity quests or whatever—I was too busy growing stronger.
"First, let me go replenish my nutrients."
I ignored the clamoring notifications and headed toward the dining hall of the Lord's Residence.
* * *
After Adrian departed from the Frost Trial Grounds.
A thick, suffocating silence descended upon the place.
Kai stood motionless in the center of the grounds, wrestling with the fury that churned within his chest. Yet the anger refused to be tamed, and I ground my teeth together with a sharp crack.
It felt as though my reason had been dyed a vivid crimson by rage.
It was anger directed at Adrian, but also a reproach aimed at myself.
A condemnation of myself for being momentarily 'overwhelmed' by Adrian.
No matter how much I thought about it, I could not comprehend why I had felt fear in Adrian's presence.
I stood in the center of the grounds for a long while, my eyes closed.
"—Sir Kai! Sir Kai!"
Then, suddenly, someone's voice calling out to me snapped me back to awareness.
As I regained my senses, the head steward, Bernard, was shouting toward me.
Beside Bernard, Seraphia was struggling to remain upright.
Her already pale skin had turned ashen, drained of all color.
Beads of cold sweat dotted her pristine forehead.
Her delicate frame, fragile as a thin petal, swayed as though buffeted by wind.
Had Bernard not been supporting her from beside, she would have collapsed to the ground long ago.
The overwhelming aura of Kai's uncontrolled fury.
She could not withstand it.
Nor was it only Seraphia.
Even the soldiers had collapsed to the ground, unable to endure Kai's presence.
Kai hastily realized his mistake and suppressed his aura.
Only then did a collective gasp of relief—ah!—burst forth across the entire grounds.
Kai bowed deeply toward Seraphia.
"…I displayed shameful conduct. My sincerest apologies."
"Oh, no, it's fine…."
Seraphia weakly waved her hand, insisting she was unharmed.
Clearly, anyone could see she was anything but fine.
Even the healthy soldiers of the Count's Castle could not withstand Kai's aura.
Seraphia, cursed by the Frost and born with an inherently fragile constitution, was in no position to endure such a thing.
Within that small, delicate body of hers flowed an absolute, relentless cold known as the 'Frost,' constantly freezing her from within.
Without periodic treatment, her body would gradually freeze, making even movement difficult.
If left untreated, eventually breathing would become impossible, and her body would freeze completely, leading to death.
Yet the Northern Snowfield possessed little of value.
Seraphia's treatments could not be administered regularly.
And in the Northern Snowfield, where the bitter cold raged relentlessly throughout the year.
Seraphia lived every single day in agony.
"Are you certain you're all right, Sir Kai…?"
And yet, she was the one expressing concern for Kai.
Such was the nature of Seraphia.
A person who cherishes and cares for her people more than herself.
A woman who would go without sleep for days if it meant feeding the inhabitants of her domain.
A true lord who would sooner fill the bellies of her people than ease her own ailments.
Seraphia was nothing like the wastrel Adrian.
They didn't seem to share the same blood, and in truth, they were siblings with no blood relation.
Fortunately, the previous Count had left everything of the House to Seraphia, not Adrian.
It was undoubtedly the will of the late Count, not a fabrication.
By now, a messenger would have delivered the will to the Royal Court.
Before the Royal Court could launch a formal investigation and issue an official decree, at least three months would be needed.
If Adrian were disposed of before then, the Royal Court might grow suspicious.
After all, Adrian was the firstborn heir of House Whitewolf.
Three months.
The time remaining before Adrian's authority as minor lord would be stripped away.
Only until then.
I would keep Adrian alive only until that time.
If, after that period had passed, Adrian remained in the House.
If he wielded the authority of the firstborn heir and freely used the family's wealth—
If he exploited the domain's people without restraint—
If he ultimately attempted to strip Seraphia of her position as lord…
Crunch!
Beneath Kai's tightly clenched fists, a palpable killing intent took root.
* * *
The dining hall within the Lord's Residence.
"I-I'm terribly sorry! We've run out of all our provisions right now…."
The Head Chef approached me, cold sweat dripping down his face.
He watched my expression carefully as he spoke.
'What was his name again?'
Unfortunately, I couldn't recall his name.
I couldn't even remember Bernard's name, the head steward.
There was no way I'd remember the Head Chef's.
But when I was at the House before, I had a vivid memory of the food's excellent taste. I could vaguely recall that he was quite a skilled chef.
"You've run out of provisions?"
"Y-yes, that's correct…."
The Head Chef bowed his head deeply, like a man confessing his sins.
It seemed absurd that a high noble House like the Whitewolves would run out of food supplies.
But it was entirely possible.
The Whitewolf Territory was located in the Northern Snowfield.
It was a harsh environment where brutal cold persisted year-round.
The variety of self-growing plants was extremely limited, and consequently, the animals that inhabited the region were far fewer in number.
In short, food was scarce.
The Whitewolf Territory possessed no mines or specialty goods to speak of. With virtually nothing of value, its finances were in dire straits.
It was a domain that bore the title of a count's territory in name alone—in reality, it was inferior even to a baron's lands.
"Didn't you prepare turkey earlier?"
"That… that was something we set aside and saved from the funeral ceremony…."
In other words, it was an ingredient they had been carefully hoarding.
And it was the very ingredient Bernard had intended to offer me before Kai spilled it on the floor.
In any case, he was proving to be utterly useless. And I couldn't help but wonder why it had to be turkey of all things.
'Was Bernard planning to give that to me?'
Turkey was an extraordinarily precious ingredient.
It was a rare delicacy reserved for special occasions like my father's funeral—otherwise, it remained untouched.
It couldn't have been because Bernard held me in high regard that he brought out the turkey.
The principle of acting on the young lord's orders… that explanation felt equally dubious.
'He must have thought I'd throw a tantrum.'
That was likely the case.
Fearing that I would throw a fit over unpalatable food, he had brought out this precious ingredient instead.
To the people here, I was 'the wastrel of House Whitewolf,' after all.
I could tell just by looking at the Head Chef standing before me, at a complete loss.
His eyes darted back and forth before finally squeezing shut—look at those tightly closed eyes.
Wasn't he bracing himself for the tantrum he expected from me?
"Is there nothing else to eat?"
"W-well…."
"Don't you have discarded offal?"
"We do have that, but…."
"Go fetch it."
A brief silence fell.
"The… the droppings? Or rather, the offal?"
The Head Chef's face went blank with bewilderment.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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